A Stitch in Line

Last year – literally a year ago – on my last night in Barcelona around 10pm after a Spanish guitar concert in a medieval church, I managed to squeeze in some last minute shopping before I left for Lisbon the next day. It was a cool and rainy night, and as I was slowly making my way back to my hostel in L’Eixample, I found one little boutique still open. I slipped in, and determined to find something to buy.

I saw little that interested me except for this one sweet shirred dress that reminded me of the floral frocks I wore as a child. Impulsively, I decided to buy it – it was only €30 or so, and it made me feel nostalgic, honestly. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that deep down I felt I had not bought enough souvenirs from Barcelona. In fact, I was doing my bit to help the flailing Spanish economy.

A day dress from 1836–40, Victoria & Albert MuseumAnyway, I am rather partial to shirring – or smocking, if you prefer to call it that. It’s a popular decorative technique for children and women’s clothing (and maybe men’s clothing in the 1970s) that involves the creation of a multitude of tiny gathers in the fabric in parallel rows. It works best on soft fabrics. Today elastic thread is usually used, but once upon a time it was painstakingly sewn by hand using ordinary thread.

Check out Make It and Love it for a tutorial if you want to try your hand at it. I won’t be – I’ve two left thumbs when it comes to the sewing machine. I’ll just be buying mine.